Popular Spots in New York

Inside the Renovated Queens Museum, Now with More Drones and Puppets

Not all makeovers go as well as Queens Museum of Art's recent face-lift. (*ahem*). After three years and $68 million in renovations, we’re glad to say that the historic will be reopening its doors to us on November 9th with a simplified moniker (just Queens Museum now, if you please). Originally a pavilion for the 1939 World’s Fair, the space has doubled in size and revamped into a bright home for a broad range of exhibitions. Designed by
Grimshaw Architects, the building opens with a 48-foot tall atrium, outfitted with a canopy of glass panels programmed with LED lighting. Its six galleries feature contemporary art and installations. What we’re most excited about? Their opening highlights, including Andy Warhol’s “13 Most Wanted Men” and a 500-square-foot relief map of New York’s watershed, also originally produced for the 1939 World’s Fair (and only shown once since).

Thinking about waiting to visit the museum until it has earned its sea legs? We wouldn't advise it. Their three days of opening festivities are certainly worth your time. At Saturday night’s Smuggled Party, DJ’s will mash up collected tunes from visitors music libraries (so you may want to clear that old Chumbawumba single). On Sunday the museum will take to the skies with an aerial video demonstration (involving drones) in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The fun doesn’t end there – on Monday adults and kiddos alike are invited to build puppets in the museum’s atrium. They certainly won’t have to pull our strings to be there.